If I go to the walk in with palpitations, what will they do?

[TreeWell]

Sorry I know the title sounds stupid but I have (diagnosed) PTSD around medical stuff and while I know I need to go, not knowing what will happen is really scaring me.

Been unwell with a cold/covid type bug for a couple of weeks. Saw the practice nurse on Monday who said my chest sounds clear but to provide a mucous sample ASAP. Still have a cough on a morning but there's nothing coming up. Since Mon night, I've had palpitations when I've been trying to get to sleep on a night. Only for a few minutes, on and off, but I think I've made them worse because I get so anxious.

No GP appointments available today and they're recommending I go to the local urgent care but I'm fucking scared of seeing docs I don't know.

Can anyone help? What will they do?

Thank you!

They will send you to urgent care. Walk-ins IME wouldn’t touch palpitations with a bargepole in case it’s the worst case scenario

Thank you for the helpful reply. Urgent care/the walk in are the same thing here - and run next door to A&E!

Probably give you an ECG. I've had that when I've gone to A&E with chest pains.

Although if you've only been having palpitations at night, it might not show up anything.

Maybe an ECG? Completely painless and very quick

I walked in to my GP surgery once with horrific palpitations. I didn't have an appointment but they saw me. They hooked me up to the ECG thing (and of course everything was fine). I would imagine they'd have the equipment to do an ECG at a walk in centre.

Fairly common after covid.

They'll prob do an ECG and check BP, and it's likely you will be put on some form of cardiac monitoring (friend had this recently and was several hours on a ward). You might need to go on one of those monitors that you wear for a few days.

These monitors are just things they stick on you (like post-its, they peel off) or maybe have straps. Painless, and straightforward. ECG is v quick - matter of a few minutes.

Mention the PTSD at earliest opportunity (they usually ask about medical history towards the start of a consultation). Take the contact details of the unit which diagnosed you (and names of doctors you've seen recently, and all therapy you currently receive for this) in case they need to liaise across teams

I had palpitations when I was pregnant - I had an ECG but the doctor was like "why did they refer you for that? Palpitations aren't serious"

No idea if they are serious or not, but worth getting it checked out. Mine were due to low iron and an irregular heartbeat from the strain of pregnancy.

In all honesty, palpitations isn't something you require urgent care for. I am not sure why they would send you unless you have other symptoms - breathlessness, sweats, dizziness, fainting, chest pain.
I would be inclined to wait for the available GP appointment. In urgent care they will likely to hook you to ECG which will show nothing. They will then ask you to book an appointment with your GP anyway.

Absolutely get it checked.
Are you in your 40’s? When peri menopause started for me, when i was about 39/40 heart palpitations and feeling dizzy were the first symptom. It’s scary when you don’t know what causes it! Late 40’s now and only happens once every few months or so now.

Palpitations can be caused by tachycardia (raised heart rate) and tachycardia can be caused by your body fighting off a virus - it's quite normal for this to happen. I would go to the GP when you can get an appointment, and not expect to hear particularly bad news.

I wouldn’t go to urgent care unless you have other symptoms . It’s not urgent and you would be wasting an appointment that someone else actually needs .

I've had palpitations on and off for my whole life. Every so often they get out of hand and bother me, the GP sends me for a routine ECG and 24hr ECG monitor.

You are vanishing unlikely to require urgent care for palpitations without other symptoms of a cardiac problem. It sounds like yours could be stress related rather than cardiac related so even less likely to be requiring urgent care, if they have a likely cause.

I do understand, they are scary. They are horrible. I catch my breath sometimes mine are so bad, but I've lived with them for decades and I'm used to them now. If you're not used to them they feel very odd. DH had them briefly after a viral infection and was spooked. He wasn't impressed by my nonchalant attitude to him but sure enough they went away on their own never to trouble him again.

You’ve been poorly with possibly Covid, palpitations really aren’t unusual, why don’t you ring your gp first?

Personally I wouldn’t go.

if you do.. they won’t do too much an ecg…
Maybe a tape if you really kick up a fuss.

heart palpitations aren’t unusual especially if you were unwell.
I recommend ensuring you are hydrated

i say this as someone who experiences them with some regularity

I did ring the gp - it's in my first post. They have no appointments and recommend that I go to urgent care.

I’d say you follow the medical advice you’ve been given, and go to the urgent care place. They will direct you as necessary.
If you can let them know you have diagnosed PTSD, I’m sure they’ll be appropriate in their treatment of you.

Sorry that you're having to go through all this; it's clearly really stressful for you so I sympathise. I'm very prone to palpitations and it can be a really unnerving thing to experience.

If you'd had palpitations constantly since Monday night, then yes, that would be concerning. But if you're just getting them for a few minutes at a time and only when you're about to go to sleep, it's probably a combination of anxiety and the fact that you're fighting off a virus.

Anxiety will definitely make it worse, or even cause it in the first place. As you had a medical appointment on Monday, and the palpitations started after that on Monday night, it's even possible that it's related to your PTSD re medical stuff.

I think it's possible your GP surgery suggested urgent care purely because they can't offer you an appointment with the GP today - I suspect they're telling you that urgent care is your only option if you want to be seen today, not that they think you necessarily need to be seen today.

If you do go to urgent care, I think the likely course of action would be that they'll have a listen to your chest, take your blood pressure and do an ECG, all of which are routine and painless. And do tell them about your PTSD so they can take that into account and will understand why you might be nervous.

Hope you feel better very soon :)

Your GP had advised to go to urgent care therefore you should go to urgent care, no one here is a proven medical professional able to give you healthcare advice based on your posts.

Urgent care will assess your symptoms, they will examine you (blood pressure, ears, throat, temperature, listen to your chest and heart). They might then decide to do an ECG and/or a chest x-ray or ultrasound depending on their pathway for your symptoms and whatever they find on initial examination. It's impossible to say exactly what they will do but that will be the gist of it.

Tell them you have a diagnosis of PTSD so that they can help you manage this while you're there.

I get them all the time. They're generally the first sign I'm coming down with something, or if I've had a particularly stressful day, or just because they feel like it. Of course you should get checked, but without any other symptoms, like fainting or chest pains, I'm pretty sure they're not an emergency.

Did they actually recommend you go to urgent care due to symptoms or was the conversation more of a 'we can't offer you an appointment so if you think you still need to see someone, go to urgent care'?

Have you tried phoning 111 as they may either be able to access appointments at your GP that you can't access directly, or make an appointment at your local urgent care for you.

I can't use 111 at all - it triggers me too much.

I've managed to book an appointment online to see my own GP in the morning - I drove to urgent care and there was a queue out of the door and I just honestly couldn't face it.

Thank you all for the reassurance too - it's made me feel much less anxious!

They’ll do an ekg of your heart, bloodwork and monitor you. Give you proper meds for the irregular heartbeat.